In a week that has delivered plenty of pitfalls for the overall contenders, there remains one final hurdle for them to conquer before they can breathe a sigh of relief on the first rest day of the 2018 Tour de France.
As hurdles go, stage 9 is a pretty big one, with a mighty 21.7 kilometres of pavé across 15 sectors. The Tour de France steered clear of the cobbles for many years, but it is the fourth time that the race will visit the pavé since Christian Prudhomme became its director in 2007, with this the toughest test the race has set before the riders.
In each of the past three cobbles appearances, at least one of the general classification contenders has seen their challenge ended – and some more abruptly than others. Frank Schleck had an early shower in 2010 when he broke his collarbone following a fall on the pavé. Four years later, Chris Froome didn't even make it to the cobbles when he was forced to step into the team car after his second crash in two days, which left him with a broken wrist.
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Though he briefly lost the yellow jersey, Froome's reunion with the cobbles in 2015 went much better than it had on his pavé debut. However, Thibaut Pinot's general classification suffered a fatal leak in the hull. Pinot had already given away quite a bit of time the previous day, but two mechanicals put paid to any hope he had of salvaging his position.
With at least six more kilometres of the rough stuff than in any of the previous Roubaix-esque stages, this year is unlikely to be any different when it comes to killing off the hopes and dreams of at least one Grand Tour contender.
A mini Paris-Roubaix
Since the route was unveiled last October, stage 9 has been dubbed a 'mini Paris-Roubaix', and with 12 of the sectors featuring in this year's 'Hell of the North', the comparison seems just.
The contenders, GC and otherwise
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via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/the-tour-de-france-goes-to-hell-cobbles-preview
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